How Masking Came to Our Modern Animal Farm in 2020

Thanks to the imagination and narrative brilliance of George Orwell’s satirical beast fable Animal Farm, we are all familiar with the anthropomorphic farm animals who rebel against their human owner. Characters such as the loyal, hard-working yet gullible horse, Boxer, and the “fierce-looking Berkshire boar”, Napoleon – the allegorical Joseph Stalin who ends up as leader of the farm (and who sells Boxer to a knacker’s yard to buy himself whisky) – have passed into our general consciousness.

There is a further group of animals who, although lacking individual names or personalities, have an important part to play in the story as it unfolds, and that is ‘the sheep’. They are largely unaware of the political theatre and Animalist theories that unfold on the farm. Yet they are the voice of blind conformity, their job being to bleat their support of Napoleon’s ideals with their repetitive clamouring of “four legs good, two legs bad”, thereby drowning out any expressions of dissent or opposition views.

The sheep, too, have made their way into our common language, with the inclusion in the Urban Dictionary in 2015 of the pejorative word ‘sheeple’ – being a combination of the words ‘sheep’ and ‘people’ – meaning a person or persons acting as a group or based only on what is trending.

In 2020 ‘sheeple’ emerged as a widely used collective noun for the people who went along with the Covid con: those who were inclined to wish others to ‘stay safe’, strictly maintain their ‘social distance’ and, of course, to wear a face mask, preaching that, “My mask protects you; your mask protects me.” (Sheeple is an unflattering term, and some (most notably for me, my wife) have suggested that whilst using ‘sheeple’ can feel cathartic and serve as a temporary pressure release valve, it is not an effective way to persuade others to change their views; other labels, such as ‘fearer’, may be more appropriate and less juvenile. She’s right, of course, but as the magnificent Media Bear showed, here, here and here, it does say everything that needs to be said in one ‘baaaa’.)

In thinking about the tendency for many to behave in a sheep-like manner during the times of Coronamania, another animal comes to mind. One that, probably because it is not a native to the British Isles, doesn’t appear in Orwell’s masterpiece. Yet, as these images reveal, it is one that was co-opted into the masking manipulation: the racoon.

Raccoons are widespread across North America and have natural masks: strips of darkened fur running across their eyes. No one knows why for sure. One theory has it that the dark markings help these nocturnally active animals see better at night, dark colours absorbing light which helps to reduce the glare. A second hypothesis is that the mask markings aid them with identification, variations in the patterns of the markings helping the animals recognise one another.

A third idea holds that the contrasting dark mask accentuates their facial movements, allowing other raccoons to pick up on subtle cues; whether it’s a slight twitch of the nose or a narrowing of the eyes, these expressions convey emotions and intentions.

They hold a special place in Native American lore where they serve a multifaceted role. Racoons are figures of entertainment, a source of moral lessons and a symbol of the unpredictable nature of life. This enigmatic creature is typically portrayed as a master of disguise, capable of assuming various forms to outwit its opponents. The trickster is known for its cunning, resourcefulness and an insatiable appetite for mischief. While its actions can often be humorous, they may also carry deeper meanings and consequences.

Many native tribes have stories explaining the origin of the raccoon’s mask. In some tales, it’s simply a disguise: in others, the mask is a reward or mark of honour bestowed upon the raccoon for a noble deed. But at their narrative heart, the trickster’s storied antics challenge societal norms and expose the folly of human behaviour. Through its actions and interactions, the racoon provides valuable insights into the complexities of human nature and the importance of both wisdom and balance.

But in 2020, contrary to his traditional role, the image of the racoon was hijacked and his visage used in support of face masking. The racoon became a sign of subservience and submission. Perhaps the most egregious example of how a smart and individualistic animal could be co-opted to the cause of manipulating us sad, human flockers, was the book Racoons Wear Face Masks Too!

In this we discover that, by considering why Rocco Racoon always wears a mask, “students learn that masks protect them, and others, from germs”, and that they all want to be like Rocco and wear a mask.

Even Napoleon, the porcine potentate of Animal Farm, might have blanched at this level of propaganda.

Paul Stevens is a member of Smile Free, which campaigns for the end of mask mandates and masking. Watch its recent film about masks in care homes and hospitals, Masking Humanity.